xx MEMOIR 



a ten-gun brig. These, and a cruise of six weeks to windward 

 of the island undertaken by the Conqueror herself in quest of 

 health, were the only breaks in three years of murderous in- 

 action ; and at the end of that period Jenkin was invalided 

 home, having 'lost his health entirely.' 



Meets As he left the deck of the guard-ship the historic part of 



King Tom. j^ s career came to an end. For forty-two years he continued to 

 serve his country obscurely on the seas, sometimes thanked for 

 inconspicuous and honourable services, but denied any opportu- 

 nity of serious distinction. He was first two years in the Larne, 

 Captain Tait, hunting pirates and keeping a watch on' the 

 Turkish and Greek squadrons in the Archipelago. Captain 

 Tait was a favourite with Sir Thomas Maitland, High Commis- 

 sioner of the Ionian Islands King Tom as he was called who 

 frequently took passage in the Lame. King Tom knew every 

 inch of the Mediterranean, and was a terror to the officers of the 

 watch. He would come on deck at night ; and with his broad 

 Scotch accent, ' Well, sir,' he would say, ' what depth of water 

 have ye ? Well now, sound ; and ye'll just find so or so many 

 fathoms,' as the case might be ; and the obnoxious passenger 

 was generally right. On one occasion, as the ship was going 

 into Corfu, Sir Thomas came up the hatchway and cast his eyes 

 towards the gallows. ' Bangham ' Charles Jenkin heard him 

 say to his aide-de-camp, Lord Bangham c where the devil is 

 that other chap ? I left four fellows hanging there ; now I can 

 only see three. Mind there is another there to-morrow.' And 

 sure enough there was another Greek dangling the next day. 

 4 Captain Hamilton, of the Cambrian, kept the Greeks in order 

 afloat,' writes my author, c and King Tom ashore.' 



Services From 1823 onward, the chief scene of Charles Jenkin's 



West activities was in the West Indies, where he was engaged off and 



Indies. on till 1844, now as a subaltern, now in a vessel of his own, 



hunting out pirates 'then very notorious' in the Leeward 



Islands, cruising after slavers, or carrying dollars and provisions 



for the Government. While yet a midshipman, he accompanied 



Mr. Cockburn to Caraccas and had a sight of Bolivar. In 



the brigantine Griffon, which he commanded in his last years 



